MTV Urge review:

MTV Urge

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The GoodMTV Urge is seamlessly integrated into the powerful Windows Media Player 11, which makes quick work of searching the music service's 2-million-plus song catalog. It's a pleasure to use the service to discover new music, thanks to its gorgeous graphical interface and plethora of hand-programmed content, such as playlists and radio stations.

The BadStill in beta, MTV Urge has some bugs to work out. Navigating between options can be slow, the service froze a couple times, and the help section isn't filled out yet. There's no option to take video content to go on compatible devices.

The Bottom LineDespite some glitches, MTV Urge is one of the best subscription music services we've seen to date. If taking your choice of millions of songs with you anywhere sounds appealing, make sure you check out this offering from MTV.

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MTV may be the new kid on the music subscription block, but it's no stranger to the industry. Indeed, the company has many years of experience under its belt, and it certainly shows in Urge. The service is easy to use, visually appealing, and chock-full of content, and it has a decided advantage as the default music source in Windows Media Player (WMP). Best of all, Urge offers plenty of fun, simple ways to discover new music.

Installing Urge is a no-brainer--it's wrapped up in WMP 11. Windows XP user need only upgrade to the latest version of the app. When you launch WMP 11, simply click the dedicated Urge button in the upper-right corner to go to the service's colorful main page. (A picture is worth a thousand words. For a closer look at Windows Media Player 11 and MTV Urge, check out our slide show.)

If it's your first time using Urge, you have the option of signing up for a 14-day free trial to the service's All Access to Go package, which regularly runs $14.99 per month. This top-level subscription includes 128Kbps streams, 192Kbps WMA downloads, and transfers to up to two compatible portable devices, such as the iRiver Clix. Alternatively, you can pay $9.99 for the All Access program, which doesn't allow for transfers to portable devices. If a subscription isn't your cup of tea, you can go à la carte and purchase individual tracks for 99 cents each. Purchased tracks can be authorized on up to five PCs, while subscription downloads are limited to three.